On the Way to the Walking Path
"Uh, Lee Se-a...?"
I asked the angel standing at my door.
"Yes? Ah — yes! I'm Lee Se-a. I've been assigned as Yoon Dan-woo's Escort Officer."
Her wandering yellow eyes found me at last. She straightened her posture and spoke with crisp formality.
She had on black leather pants that clung to every line of her legs, and a white crop top that left her midriff completely bare. Over it she'd thrown a mustang jacket lined with white fur — enough that walking around outside wouldn't be too cold. It was a look that radiated a rough, almost wild charm at odds with her face, and it suited her remarkably well.
Wow...
My gaze drifted downward before I could stop it. Her breasts were a modest size — just enough that one hand might barely cup them, or maybe not quite. Then again, my hands had gotten smaller, so by a fair measure she'd be a full B-cup, wouldn't she?
As if in compensation, her hips were spectacular. Her pelvis sat just a shade narrower than her shoulders — impressive enough from the front, but it made me want to see her from behind. It was a figure no East Asian woman should have been able to possess.
I swallowed the saliva that had pooled in my mouth and spoke.
"Shall we head out? I'm all ready."
"I will follow Yoon Dan-woo's instructions. Please just say the word whenever you're ready."
Her answer was blunt. But she couldn't hide her expression, or the way her body betrayed her. She was pretending her eyes were empty of feeling, yet the pupils within them sparkled. A flush had painted itself across her pale skin, and she was shifting her weight in tiny, restless increments — so subtle you'd miss it if you weren't paying close attention.
If I were taller, I would have missed it.
I only noticed because I had to look up at her. For the record, I'm in the upper 150s. I'd originally thought I was in the upper 160s, but that was a misread.
"Don't be like that. I want us to get along, Se-a."
I looked her straight in the eyes and smiled.
"I won't pretend we're on equal footing. But we can still be close, can't we?"
"...Is that so?"
Her cheeks colored. She held her silence for a moment, then answered quietly, tilting her head as if she only half-believed me. Probably because I was a man. In this world, it was almost unheard of for a man to say he wanted to be close with a woman. It was the kind of thing that always came up whenever people online discussed urban legends or some idealized fantasy.
She doesn't have to believe me right now. I'll make her believe it — slowly, over time.
That had been the plan all along, and I was confident I could pull it off.
"Shall we talk as we walk?"
"Yes. Understood."
We couldn't stand in the doorway forever. I closed the door behind us and we left the building.
"It's been a while since I've been outside. Staying cooped up at home really does make you stiff."
I stretched my arms high over my head, working the kinks out. Joints popped all over. I stretched at home often enough, but it was a different experience doing it out here with the wind on my skin.
"...Yoon Dan-woo. Are you all right?"
We were on the way to the walking path. I'd been looking around, checking whether this neighborhood was much different from the old world, when she asked — brows drawn into a worried V, her face deeply concerned.
"Huh? About what?"
"I actually received a report about what happened to you a few days ago."
"A few days ago... the rape attempt?"
She nodded and went on.
"Escort officers are notified whenever something happens to the man they're assigned to."
Ah. So that was how it worked. It would have been strange if this world didn't have a system like that. A society that treated men with the utmost care and protection wouldn't just leave a police incident without follow-up. The contact went to the dedicated escort officer, not to me.
"...Then why didn't you say anything? You could have called."
"Calling a man who's just been through something like that would only make him more anxious."
Fair enough. Even I, who'd grown up in the old world, still hadn't gotten over it. A man raised in this one might lose his mind. When your fear and distrust of women had shot through the roof, and then a woman called you? Even if she was the one assigned to protect you, you'd tremble just the same.
"Yoon Dan-woo."
She called my name in a serious voice.
"If you don't like me, please say so. You can switch to a different escort officer at any time."
"What are you—"
I started to ask, but her next words shut me up.
"So please. I'm begging you — don't go out alone. Please..."
Ah. She thinks I went out alone because I don't like her?
Something I'd done out of sheer ignorance of this world had made her anxious.
"Se-a. That's not it at all."
I stopped walking and faced her. I'd taken a step closer, so I had to tilt my head up slightly — but that also meant I could see her more clearly. My reflection shone in those beautiful yellow eyes.
"I didn't go out alone because I dislike you, or because you weren't to my taste."
Her pupils trembled. Even so, she didn't look away.
"We've never even contacted each other before, have we?"
She'd said so herself. Last time had been the first time we'd spoken. How could I dislike someone I'd never even seen — never even heard the voice of?
"I just got stir-crazy sitting at home, so I went out. I never imagined I'd run into something like that on the way to the convenience store right in front of my building."
Even if I had disliked her, I wouldn't have gone out alone knowing what could happen. There was no way. The original owner of this body had known that perfectly well. He'd gone years without setting foot outside even once.
"Is that... really true?"
She asked in a trembling voice.
"You really didn't do it because you dislike me?"
This woman. Her self-esteem was lower than she looked. She had the face of a pure angel — why was her self-worth so low? If I made a woman like this dependent on me...
You crazy bastard. What the hell are you thinking!?
I had to keep the lines I needed to keep. I couldn't cross that boundary.
"Y-Yoon Dan-woo?"
When I didn't say anything, she grew anxious and called my name. Her voice trembled even more than before, and tears had gathered at the corners of her eyes.
"Haa... If you still can't believe me, I guess I have no choice."
She flinched. I approached her carefully and pulled her into a firm hug. With the height difference, hugging her from the front meant my head was swallowed up by her chest. I savored the firmness of her bra through the fabric and the soft give of the breasts within as I slid my arms around her back.
"Hngh!?"
She let out a strange little scream at my sudden move. How was every single thing she did so cute — so tempting to tease? I slowly stroked her back until she calmed down, then spoke.
"From now on, I'm going to call you so often it'll be annoying. You ready? You brought this on yourself, Se-a."
"W-what?"
She stared down at me nestled in her arms, completely at a loss. And yet she made no move to push me away. She just turned her head this way and that in a fluster, and I told her:
"I mean! I'm going to show you through my actions."
I lifted my face from her chest and grinned, and her face flushed bright red.
"Y-you're joking too much!"
"I'm not joking, though? Well — you wouldn't believe me even if I said it a hundred times."
When I pulled away from her embrace, Se-a let out a sigh laced with disappointment. Then she startled at the sound she'd made and clamped a hand over her mouth. I barely managed to hold back the laugh that threatened to escape.
"You'll find out with time. Whether I was joking..."
I gently took her hand and smiled a provocative smile.
"...or whether I wasn't."
I didn't interlace our fingers — just held her hand like a handshake. A soft, yielding sensation pressed against my palm. Could hands this soft really protect me? The thought crossed my mind unbidden.
"Th-that's not allowed!"
I jumped at her sudden shout, but I asked anyway.
"What's not allowed? Did you not want to hold my hand?"
"Th-that's not it..."
She was badly flustered. Looking at her like this, that clearly wasn't the issue. So what wasn't allowed? She hesitated for a moment. Then, as if steeling herself, she squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again.
"An escort officer is only supposed to make physical contact with her assigned male when his safety is at risk. So..."
"Then what if the assigned male initiates the contact first? Are you supposed to refuse that too?"
She said nothing. Watching her mouth open and close soundlessly, I tightened my grip on her hand.
"Answer me. Okay?"
"...There isn't."
She spoke in a voice so quiet I could barely hear it.
"I couldn't quite hear that."
I pretended I hadn't heard and leaned my face in closer. As our faces drew near, she turned her head the other way and repeated herself.
"There is no... such regulation."
"Then I guess we'll have to hold hands until we get home today."
"U-until we get home?"
She whipped her head around in surprise, bringing us so close our noses nearly touched.
Even her eyelashes are white.
She stood frozen, then flinched and hurriedly pulled away. But since I hadn't let go of her hand, she only managed to take a few steps back.
"A-are you really going to keep holding my hand?"
"Yep! You tried to reject me. That hurt a lot, you know."
I put on a lonely expression, and she started panicking in a way anyone could see.
"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way..."
Se-a's brows knitted into a worried V, and she fidgeted restlessly, genuinely concerned. The way she inched closer little by little made her look like a rain-soaked puppy. In the end, I couldn't hold it in anymore. The laugh burst out of me.
"Pfft. Hahaha! I'm kidding, kidding. I wasn't hurt, so don't worry."
"Is that so? Thank goodness. Then your hand..."
"That part wasn't a joke, though? I'm really going to keep holding it."
I gave a little tug, trying to pull her toward me, but she didn't budge an inch. Even with a build similar to women from the old world, her strength clearly far exceeded anything I could imagine.
"Why? I've never even heard of an assigned male walking down the street holding hands with his escort officer."
"Hmm... does that matter?"
"Pardon?"
She asked as if she didn't understand, so I spelled it out for her.
"You're my escort officer, Se-a. So what other men and their escort officers do with each other isn't really important, is it?"
"I... suppose not?"
She tilted her head, frowning as she answered, as if she wasn't entirely convinced herself. But I had no intention of resolving that doubt. If anything, this was the moment to push.
"In that spirit, Se-a? How about we drop the formalities?"
"...What? That's so sudden..."
She couldn't hide her fluster at a proposal she clearly hadn't seen coming. She wouldn't refuse — but just in case, I quickly added more.
"We're going to be seeing each other a lot from now on. It'd be awkward if we stayed stiff with each other, wouldn't it? At least, it would be for me."
"Mm... but is that really okay? I'm your escort officer."
"It's fine. It's what the man you're escorting wants. Nobody's going to complain. What do you say?"
I squeezed her hand, and she flinched as she answered.
"Ugh... okay..."
She's so cute. How can anyone be this cute?
I muttered it under my breath, too quiet for her to hear, and squeezed our joined hands.
"But Yoon Dan-woo... Dan-woo, haven't you already been talking casually this whole time?"
She'd been about to slip back into honorifics, so I squeezed her hand hard and she hurriedly dropped them.
"Huh? Did I?"
I tilted my head as if I hadn't noticed. I had, of course. I'd done it on purpose. There was no way I wouldn't know.
"Hehe. You didn't notice?"
She let out a little laugh, apparently finding my reaction amusing.
"Besides, I'm older than you. That makes me your noona."
"...For real? You're not joking?"
This one genuinely surprised me. I'd figured she was the same age at most, or younger. How could this face belong to someone older?
"I'm two years older. I'm twenty-five."
"So you're my noona. Se-a noona."
Her face flushed. Ah — she'd been burned into my chest from the moment I first saw her. Knowing she was older made something stir inside me. I loosened my grip slightly and laced our fingers together.
"D-Dan-woo?!"
"Not 'Dan-woo-nim.' Just Dan-woo. You're my noona, remember?"
"N-no! That's not — why are you interlocking our fingers?!"
Even as she said it, she made no move to pull away. If anything, she squeezed tighter, as if to make sure our hands wouldn't come apart by accident.
"Just for today... just while we're out walking, can we stay like this?"
"Hweh..."
I looked up at her as I asked, and she made a strange little sound, shrinking into herself. Seriously, why was she this cute?
"Noona. Answer me."
"I-it's fine. Yeah... it's fine."
Looking at her dazed expression, I stepped onto the walking path.